pjbooks Chapter 63: [Are you alright?]
Chapter 63: [Are you alright?]
"Senior, are you really not going to run a breakfast stall anymore?"
"What the heck? Boss Liu isn't running a breakfast stall anymore?"
"Yes, they announced it yesterday when they were setting up their stall that they would be temporarily suspending their breakfast stall operations because they were too busy. I think Bilibili also posted about it."
"Oh, I was originally planning to try this hand-pulled pancake during the National Day holiday."
"You could also try the steak. I went with my classmates a few days ago, and it was really good."
"No, the line for steak is too long. We're only going to stay for three days at most and then head home. We don't want to waste time queuing..."
Early October, daytime.
Liu Zhuohao hadn't eaten breakfast yet. He was scrolling through the chat history in the fan group from last night while doing the accounting.
After two months of running a street-side steak stall, the cash in the account has grown to over 100,000 yuan.
We don't need money for now.
But we really don't have enough manpower.
and……
"Boss! You were absolutely right!"
Huang Weixiong and Li Zekai rushed in from outside, their faces flushed with anger. "Those old guys are doing it on purpose! They've been queuing up for nights in a row, and when it's their turn, they start dawdling!"
"They haven't said a word all day! They're not here to eat, they're just disgusting!"
They handed over their phones, which contained some details that Zhuang Zicong and Liu Honghao had noticed during post-production.
The video was over ten minutes long and had been sped up. First, there was the old man I recognized, then the old lady, the young man... I noticed some of the faces, but I was too busy to see others.
These details are hidden in the throngs of people and are usually inconspicuous.
But if you look at them separately, you'll see that their statements and actions are exactly the same.
First, they queue up, then linger at the stall, then deliberately say disgusting things to provoke the other customers in the queue, and finally ask for an explanation.
As Liu Zhuohao watched the video, he naturally considered things from the perspective of most customers, letting them think through the dishes they wanted before ordering.
Every time I finished speaking, they would leave grumbling and cursing.
Sometimes, if a "customer" speaks up for them, they get even more excited, and their words become increasingly offensive—
"It's so cheap, I wonder what kind of meat it is."
"Is it really beef? Could it be rat meat?"
"The steak I had at a Western restaurant was much better than this. Have you never eaten anything good before?"
……
"Boss, look here..." Huang Weixiong zoomed in on the screen, his face ashen. "Isn't this the same guy who was dawdling in line on the night of the 29th?"
Liu Zhuohao watched without saying a word.
What does this mean?
This means they are a group, or at least know each other.
"Boss, what do we do?" Li Zekai was pacing anxiously. "Should we call the police?"
"Call the police?" Huang Weixiong frowned. "Is...is this illegal?"
"Isn't this just like petty thugs causing trouble!" Li Zekai tried to find a reason, "It's just that they might..."
"It's different," Liu Zhuohao interrupted him. "They're just 'normal customers,' they just stand in line without buying anything."
It's not like it was twenty years ago, when you had to pay protection money to do business.
The old method of hiring thugs to cause trouble and disrupt the place if you don't pay protection money is outdated.
Nowadays, if someone wants to mess with you, they'll do it in a more civilized way: they'll call a bunch of people to line up, but they won't buy anything. They'll often cause trouble, deliberately provoking other customers and creating chaos, driving away a large number of genuine customers who actually want to buy something.
Is this illegal? Strictly adhering to the legal provisions, it could be considered disturbing public order, but it's difficult to define the specific nature of the offense.
After all, how can you prove they're there to cause trouble, and not genuine customers?
These few videos? Not enough.
In small places, the usual approach to handling these kinds of things is to smooth things over.
Want to hold someone accountable? That's difficult!
"So we're just going to watch them cause trouble?" Li Zekai's face turned bright red.
Because of the limited-time promotion, there were already many customers at the booth, with queues stretching all the way down the street.
There are still people causing trouble these days; what if something really happens?
Liu Zhuohao glanced at the impetuous young man and said in a calm voice, "I'll add someone to the group later. It's my cousin, he's a lawyer."
"Explain the situation to him clearly and do as he suggests."
"But don't just focus on that. You also need to handle the recruitment. Follow the process I used when I interviewed you: first answer questions online, then meet in person. Physical fitness is very important."
With that, Liu Zhuohao shut down his computer, stood up, and said, "I'm going out to discuss business. Also, keep an eye on the food truck and the newly made GG signs for me..."
He didn't give this matter much thought at all.
When business booms, others become envious. This kind of underhanded tactic is nothing more than the cheapest form of retaliation when local competitors can't compete with their own real skills. I've seen it all before.
Liu Zhuohao decided to follow the same path he had come from, something he had already anticipated when he started his restaurant business.
As long as you keep moving forward, these little things will naturally resolve themselves.
"But that's perfect." Liu Zhuohao thought to himself, looking at the two men's angry and anxious expressions. "I was just wondering how to broaden Awei and the others' horizons. This time, let them try and see if they can handle things."
……
……
Liu Zhuohao rode his motorcycle through the city.
At this time, few third- and fourth-tier cities ban motorcycles.
Moreover, city roads are narrow and there are many electric vehicles, making motorcycles a more suitable means of transportation than cars.
However, the main reason is that Liu Zhuohao has already taken the driving test once, and the next test will have to wait until next year because it is an upgrade to a higher license.
As he passed the sign that read "School Ahead, Watch Your Speed," he couldn't help but glance at the bookstore entrance.
The place where I used to set up my food cart is now completely empty, even though it's daytime and only a little past nine o'clock.
They've stopped displaying them.
After September ended, Liu Zhuohao's breakfast stall announced its closure.
Originally, he had only paid three months' rent, and it was due in September, which was a proper expiration date.
As for the three months the bookstore owner offered for free, he refused them.
I simply don't have any extra energy.
Earlier, even after the night market was established, the main purpose of setting up stalls was to ensure that students were more likely to be familiar with Bilibili.
Liu Zhuohao persisted in running his breakfast stall in order to attract their attention.
But now, it's no longer necessary.
By leveraging my offline business, I quickly overcame the awkward period of being a new blogger with no likes, no favorites, and so on.
Now, with the platform's promotion and the help of its editors, my follower count is approaching 30,000.
30,000 followers.
The total number of students from the schools near my stall is only a little over 30,000.
Of those who knew about Bilibili, about 60% were influenced by their own experiences.
Of those, only about 20-30% are willing to register an account by taking various tests just to gain attention.
It's already saturated.
Liu Zhuohao stopped his motorcycle in front of the bookstore.
He picked up his phone and pointed it at himself.
Behind them was an empty bookstore entrance, and inside, the bookstore owner was watching TV, completely unaware that he had arrived.
After taking the photo, Liu Zhuohao uploaded it to his newly registered Weibo account, along with the caption:
"Stopping is for better progress. Next time we meet, I hope to bring healthier, tastier, and more diverse breakfasts to my juniors."
At the same time, he launched a lottery on Weibo.
— 200 store vouchers worth 99 yuan each!
……
……
The tea restaurant was steaming hot.
Liu Zhuohao held a soup dumpling with a soup spoon, gently poked it with chopsticks, and bent down to suck up the gushing soup.
Sitting across from them was Chen Youyin, the manager of the beef ball factory that Lao Zhao had introduced them to, who had given them a tour back then.
Although he's in charge, his words carry considerable weight.
The factory is a family business; the owner is his father, and the person in charge is his brother, Chen Youjin.
"Brother Chen, I'm not here to cause trouble," Liu Zhuohao put down his spoon, "I just wanted you to check out this Bilibili platform first. I'm planning to make a video about it later..."
"Yes, yes, but I'm not the boss, I can't make the decision. You've invited the wrong person to dinner." Chen Youyin interrupted him, his hands shiny with oil as he ate chicken feet.
"...And I've already inquired about it." He sucked on his fingers. "After you guys finished visiting the factory that day, I went back and asked my son what this website was all about. He didn't know what it was either, but he knows how to use the internet, so he searched for it for me."
"To be honest, I'm not very famous."
"I thought it was a big site like Youku or Tudou, but it turns out to be a website I've never even heard of."
Liu Zhuohao wasn't in a hurry and asked:
"I didn't know your son was studying..., Brother Chen..."
Chen Youyin replied:
"He's a sophomore in high school, he shouldn't be that old, right?"
"You don't need to say anything. We're old and don't know anything about things online. My son hasn't heard of it either. He's not someone who doesn't understand trends, is he?"
"He's really good at video games. He even participated in some kind of league before, a shooting game."
Liu Zhuohao was somewhat surprised: "Oh, the Hundred Cities League, and you even won an award?"
"Yes, yes, the Hundred Cities League!"
Chen Youyin remembered, "I didn't win an award, but at least I participated."
Liu Zhuohao remained silent, without asking how far the fight had progressed.
"In short, I may not know much about the internet among you young people," Chen Youyin replied. "But my son knows about it. He's never even heard of yours; it's just a small website."
What good is it if a small website becomes famous?
"If it were any other industry, that would be a different story."
Liu Zhuohao wiped his hands with the steaming white cloth beside him, picked up his phone, and explained, "But bro, when it comes to food, and good food at that, do you really think there's a difference between users of big websites and users of small websites?"
Chen Youyin paused with his chopsticks.
"You see, as long as someone is human, they need to eat."
Liu Zhuohao placed his phone on the table, turned it upside down, and showed him that his video views had reached a staggering 830,000, with a pink tag indicating that he was ranked as high as number 3 on the entire site's charts.
With a casual swipe, over ten thousand comments appeared in the comment section.
"I see you on the homepage every single issue! But when I click in, I realize I haven't even followed you yet... (facepalm)"
"I'll never be able to eat Boston lobster in my lifetime, but I can add two eggs to my noodles! (Proudly)"
"I understand the logic! But those are lobsters! Lobsangs! (Slams table)"
"The atmosphere at this night market is so realistic... Are they really not just hired extras?"
"Hey, can you cover the airfare and hotel for the giveaway? I'll take time off work and fly over right now! (Raises hand)"
Aside from the comments, the bullet comments were also full, but because it was from the viewer's perspective, the displayed value was limited.
Likes: 314889
Coin insertion: 211005
Favorites: 122031
This is the video with the most explosive data among all of Liu Zhuohao's videos, with almost every data point exceeding 10,000, and even exceeding 100,000.
Similarly, this is also the most presentable video.
Liu Zhuohao pushed the phone towards him: "How about... we watch the video first?"
Chen Youyin remained silent, his eyes fixed on the screen.
"Should we turn on the live chat?" Liu Zhuohao asked, "You know, those words that float by at the top."
"Keep it running." Chen Youyin slurped up a piece of chicken foot, his eyes still glued to the video. "Your skills are pretty good. Did you study it specifically? Old Zhao said you make steaks."
He raised his eyelids: "Still getting seafood?"
"I just figured it out on my own, maybe I have a bit of talent." Liu Zhuohao picked up his chopsticks again, took a shumai, and said, "I don't sell seafood, it's just for filming the show."
"Wow—" Chen Youyin clicked his tongue unconsciously as he watched the scene of pouring wine and setting it on fire on the screen. "As soon as the wine was poured, white smoke rose up, and the aroma wafted out of the screen."
He tossed the cleaned chicken feet bones into his dish, forked a piece of tripe, and looked over with a smile: "Thank goodness I'm eating while watching! If I were watching this in the middle of the night, I'd be too hungry to sleep!"
Liu Zhuohao chimed in:
"Yes, many people watch my videos while eating."
In the ten-minute video, Manager Chen ate as he watched, including rice noodle rolls, honeycomb tripe, and finally a bowl of beef tendon ball soup.
"Gurgle gurgle..."
Chen Youyin finished the soup and seaweed, wiped his mouth, and said, "Your video is really enticing; it's made me hungry."
He put down his bowl, as if suddenly remembering something: "Hey, why don't you order a bowl of beef tendon balls to try? The balls at this teahouse are all supplied by our family."
Liu Zhuohao laughed: "I've tried it. I tasted it last time I came, and I even asked their manager about it."
Chen Youyin's expression became subtle, but he said, "Your words are so sharp? I was just kidding, this isn't our stuff."
He said this while staring intently at Liu Zhuohao.
"impossible."
Without a second thought, Liu Zhuohao met his gaze and said, "It's definitely from your company. I really asked. If it's not, then that manager is lying to me."
Chen Youyin did not respond.
After a few seconds of silence, he leaned back, his tone becoming indifferent:
"The video is well-made, but our factory doesn't really need this much GG."
"In the city alone, twelve teahouses, rice noodle shops, hot pot restaurants... all of them are supplied by my family, as well as those stalls selling fresh meat."
"To be honest, with the size of our business right now, we can't even keep up with the orders."
The words were spoken bluntly and the meaning was clear.
We don't need your sales channel.
Liu Zhuohao didn't touch his chopsticks, he just looked at him:
"What if I said..."
"I'm not here to do business."
"What I'm thinking is to promote our local products, like beef balls, tendon balls, and cuttlefish balls, outside the city, outside the province, and even nationwide?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Youyin's expression clearly froze.
Those eyes clearly conveyed four words:
Are you OK?